


A Bitter Betrayal

by Salimah



Category: Vikings (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Family Meeting, But he deserves it, Cheating, F/M, don't expect angst here, semi-public fight, this is silly and dumb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-10
Updated: 2017-11-10
Packaged: 2019-01-31 09:16:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12678915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salimah/pseuds/Salimah
Summary: In which Hvitserk discovers his wife cheated on him with his brother, but doesn’t know with which one. Yet.





	A Bitter Betrayal

**Author's Note:**

> My first Vikings fic ever, so be nice with me. I tried to make the characters justice, but I haven’t watched the show; the only things I know from those characters are for the clips in youtube and the psychoanalysis from fans in here, so you’ll have to understand my bad characterization (I hope you do). Also, there is a lot of people here, so it may look a little messy. I’m not gonna lie, this isn’t of my best works, but is the best I can give now.
> 
> As always, eternal thanks to @brightlycoloredteacups who was my beta with this fic. If you aren’t following her, go to her blog now and read all her stuff. Seriously, what a beautiful gremlin.
> 
> I think is painfully obvious that english isn’t my first language, so if you see any mistakes in the narration is because of that. Please let me know what do you think!

The screams could be heard from outside when Ubbe parked his car in the street in front of his brother’s house. He knew immediately that this was going to be a long family reunion, and not the good ones.

He looked out the window at the door of the house for a couple of minutes, wondering if his presence was absolutely necessary that afternoon. Margrethe squeezed his hand from the passenger seat, and with that simple gesture he knew that yes, his family was going to need him, maybe more than he would like.

With a sigh of defeat Ubbe got out of the car with his girlfriend and went to the door of the house, now paying more attention to the screams that seemed to be of his brother, Hvitserk.

 _“I should have known!”_  He shouted with fury, although in his voice was that infantile shriek that Ubbe had become accustomed to throughout his life. Whatever had bothered his brother so much, didn’t sound so serious.  _“I should have known you only loved me for my money, for my fortune!”_

Ubbe frowned and shared a confused look with Margrethe, finally opening the front door and entering the living room. Sigurd was already there, sitting in one of the expensive armchairs and playing with the piano application on his phone, ignoring the screams coming from the hallway. There was no one else in sight.

“They’ve been like this twenty minutes, they had already started when I arrived,.” his brother said looking up briefly from his phone to look at him and give Margrethe a warm smile, and returned his attention to his game almost immediately afterwards.

Ubbe grimaced when your voice was the next to shout,  _“Your fortune? What fortune? You spend everything that comes to your hands in alcohol and strippers! There’s nothing that I can steal from you apart from the panties of your ‘friends’ that you keep on your desk!”_

“I’ll go make some coffee,” murmured Margrethe, breaking free of her grip and sliding into the kitchen. Ubbe didn’t know what to do with himself, so he just sat in one of the chairs and waited, listening to the fight between his brother and his wife despite his best efforts to ignore them.

 _“My–”_  Hvitserk started before stopping abruptly. Ubbe loved his brother, he really did, but he couldn’t deny how stupid he could be sometimes. Of course you knew about his lovers, how could you not? Hvitserk could be clever when he wanted to, but this time he hadn’t even tried to hide his adventures. Maybe that’s why this fight was, anyway. Maybe you finally got tired of playing the perfect wife with his brother.

Ubbe fidgeted with his hands as he waited for the inevitable confrontation, which was surely going to be noisier than the previous ones. He didn’t have to wait long,  _“So you also check my stuff, huh? What else have you done behind my back? Are you trying to steal my part of the company too, woman?”_

Ubbe could almost feel the way you rolled your eyes,  _“Is that what you’re going to say? What am I trying to steal from you? I do not care about that, Hvitserk, and you know it.”_

Sigurd shrugged and curved his mouth in an agreement, “She’s right.”

The sound of a car parking outside alerted the arrival of someone else at the same time that Hvitserk responded with something to which Ubbe didn’t pay attention.

The front door opened revealing an excited Ragnar and a tired Aslaug, both entering the house holding pots full of food. They had heard the screams from outside too, and both had their own excitement about the matter.

“Why are we arguing today?” Said his father, bouncing on his feet and smiling from ear to ear like an idiot. His mother was standing behind him, looking more annoyed than anything. She was tired of the fights in her family; Ubbe knew that feeling well.

“We’re still trying to find out,” replied Sigurd from his seat, stretching to see what his mother had brought to eat. Your scream echoed in the room when you answered your husband.

_“If we’re going to divorce, it’s because you’re a goddamn asshole!”_

_“Ohhh.”_  Ragnar and Sigurd muttered at the same time, their expressions equality amazed. Now both were hungry to know the whole story. Aslaug was halfway to the kitchen when Hvitserk’s response made them all stop.

_“Are you sure it’s not because you slept with my fucking brother?!”_

Every movement in the room stopped. Ragnar and Sigurd had stopped moving silently into the hallway and Ubbe had stopped rubbing his hands over his face in annoyance. Even Margrethe had stopped moving in the kitchen, and the only sound that could be heard was the breathing of the Lothbrok family.

Aslaug narrowed her eyes, “I knew it.”

 _“We’re not going to argue about this now!”_  You answered breathlessly. Clearly it was not something you expected him to say, but neither were you going to back down now. Everyone in the room processed your words only for a few moments before the main room door opened from the hallway.

You left the room and entered the hall in a matter of seconds, stopping abruptly when you saw the people gathered in front of you, going from being angry to mortified. Hvitserk was following you closely.

“You can’t just leav– Oh hello family.”

“Hello Hvitserk.” replied Aslaug, always being the only one who knew what to say in these situations. Ubbe wondered how many fights in this family his mother had solved, and he knew almost immediately that he didn’t really wanted to know the answer.

You’re still mortified standing there in the middle of the hallway threshold, looking at everyone with an expression of absolute terror. The tension was broken only for a few moments when Margrethe came back from the kitchen with a tray full of coffee cups and mini sandwiches.

“Here honey, it seems you need it,” she murmured when she passed to your side, handing you the largest cup of the tray, which you gladly accepted.

Hvitserk also looked petrified until he set his eyes on Ubbe, and suddenly his expression changed to one of fury.

“I help you buy the engagement ring for your girlfriend, and this is how you pay me? Sleeping with my wife?” He growled the words with venom. Nobody noticed how you shook your head with alarm and denied several times.

Ubbe’s eyes widened as the words slipped from his brother’s tongue, and he immediately began to respond, “I never–”

“Are you going to ask me to marry you?” Margrethe interrupted, her delicate face now flooded with confusion and a small part of happiness before it changed to one of anger, just like his brother’s. “Did you sleep with Y/N?”

“No!” Ubbe hurried to answer, standing up and walking towards his girlfriend, who in turn was moving farther and farther away from him. “Margrethe, I swear that I–”

“Dude, that’s low,” Sigurd said, now sitting next to Ragnar who was humming along with his youngest son. Ubbe could feel the desperation flooding him.

“It was not Ubbe I slept with!” You shouted over the voices that now ruled the room, startling everyone.

“Obviously,” Aslaug muttered behind the glass of beer she had taken a few minutes ago. She needed it.

Hvitserk was confused, “I thought you cheated on me with Ubbe.” he said in a low voice, but everyone could hear what he was saying.

You softened your expression before the confused puppy face of your husband, leaving your cup of coffee on the table in front of you, “Not with him, Hvitserk,” you said in a low voice.

“With whom, then?” He raised his voice again, turning in Sigurd’s direction, “Did you sleep with my wife, Sigurd?” He almost shouted, searching again for the source of his anger.

Sigurd stepped back until he was almost on his father’s lap, “Oh, no! I don’t touch other people’s merchandise.”

“Did you… did you just called me  _merchandise?_ ”

The motor of a motorcycle was heard outside the house, something that only you noticed. Ubbe was pulling Margrethe in his lap, stroking her hand between his and looking completely oblivious to what was happening around him. Sigurd was still trying to convince Hvitserk that he was not your lover and Ragnar was barely holding back his laughter. Aslaug looked at her glass of alcohol like it had the answers to her existence.

The front door opened just as Hvitserk threw his arms into the air and shouted, “Which of you fucking  _pigs_  slept with my wife?”

Ivar stopped at the doorframe and just stood there for a few seconds before his face broke into a mocking smile, “Nice.”

No one aside from Aslaug seemed to notice the look that Ivar and you shared. Aslaug narrowed her eyes suspiciously and took another drink of her glass.

“If I had known that this was what awaited me I would have come sooner.” Ivar closed the door with his foot, leaning on his cane and going further into the living room where his family was waiting for him, “I brought mac n’ cheese.”

Again, only Aslaug noticed the loving smile that you hastened to hide, approaching Ivar and taking the container he held. Your hands lingered a little longer than necessary in his, but nothing too obvious for others in the room to notice. Aslaug had seen that look in the eyes of her son with only a woman in all his life: herself.

“There’s coffee on the table, if you want to drink a little.” Margrethe said absently as she stroked Ubbe’s hair, her hand now glowing with the ring on her finger. Ragnar made room for Ivar when he approached, even though Sigurd refused to move.

Hvitserk was just as confused as before, now looking at each person in the room, “I know you didn’t lie to me, wife, but could you at least tell me which of my brothers you slept with?”

“Where’s the fun in that?” You answered when you went back into the living room, picking up your coffee cup from where you left it, the tension in the room now slowly disappearing. You sat on the arm of the sofa where the two younger brothers and their father were sitting. Ivar slid a finger gently down your back without looking at you, stopping at the edge of your pants. Sigurd watched as you didn’t reacted to that touch, and squinted his eyes with suspicion.

“You torture me, woman. I don’t deserve this abuse.”

“You tried to sleep with my sister on her wedding day, Hvitserk.”

“Your sister is hot as hell, Y/N.”

“And you’re dumb like a mule, brother.” Sigurd said absently, without looking at him, too focused on pushing Ivar out of his seat.

Hvitserk rubbed his hands over his face. It seemed that this day was not going as planned, “I’m serious, guys, I can’t even look at them without thinking, well,  _that_.” He let out a sigh and dropped into his favorite chair.

“Oh, please, Hvitserk,” Ivar rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat, pulling his hands away from you, “You’re not a twelve-year-old child, you can say it. Sex.”

“Sacrilege.” Ragnar muttered under his breath, but no one besides Margrethe paid any attention to him, who giggled and sank deeper into the neck of her now fiancé. Ragnar raised his coffee cup in her direction as a toast.

Hvitserk continued speaking incoherently from his chair, letting out his confused thoughts aloud, “I mean, what you have that I don’t? I’m charming, handsome, good in bed…”

“And a womanizer, gluttonous and noisy…” Ubbe spoke from his seat, still with Margrethe in his lap, only now they had both returned to earth. Hvitserk frowned and tossed him one of the mini-sandwiches. Ubbe caught it in a movement and ate it without a second thought. Hvitserk just crossed his arms and looked away.

You were still sitting on the arm of the biggest sofa, squeezing the almost empty cup nervously, “Well, Ubbe has a great beard.” you shifted in your seat, listening as Margrethe hummed in agreement. You let a smile slide on your lips. “And Sigurd has amazing hair.”

Sigurd stroked his own hair back, smiling, “It’s the conditioner.”

You waited for your fit of giggles to calm down before continuing, “Besides, Ivar has eyes…” You paused, looking at the younger brother of the Lothbrok for a moment before speaking again, “Captivating, I guess.”

Ragnar didn’t bother to hide his mocking smile and raised his hand like to ask permission to speak, “I have all that together, just so you know.”

Hvitserk stopped chewing his fifth mini-sandwich and gave his father a dead look, “How funny. I’m dying of laughter.”

Ragnar opened his mouth to protest, but Ivar interrupted him before his father and brother started another fight, “This is the most interesting family reunion we’ve had in years; I want more drama, would any of you like to confess something before going to eat?”

Aslaug sighed and rolled her eyes, leaving her empty glass to the side, “Alright, let’s finish with this.” She rolled up the sleeves of her dress and frowned, crossing her arms over her chest, “You already know it, but I want to say it out loud. I hate your father, with a deep passion.”

You opened your eyes with surprise and looked at the others in the room, assessing their reactions. No one seemed very impressed, only startled by the sudden confession, “I already know that, sweetheart.” Ragnar replied, taking a sip of his coffee indifferently.

“I once sang in the karaoke of a gay club for three hours with a guy named Lucas. He had green hair and wore space rocket pants. He charmed me with his talks of Oscar Wilde and his Beyoncé songs.” Sigurd looked straight ahead, not daring to look at someone else “I will not give more details of what happened next.”

Margrethe shifted uncomfortably in Ubbe’s lap, “I was about to say that sometimes I feel as if I should have chosen Sigurd over Ubbe, but I think that feeling is gone now.”

Hvitserk chuckled at the same time as Ubbe, before the latter stopped and looked at his fiancée, “You  _what_?”

“I didn’t expect them to really tell their secrets.” Ivar told you in a low voice, leaning in your direction. You giggled and covered your mouth almost immediately after, not wanting to draw the attention back to you. Ivar wasn’t taking any of that, “But I like it. I want them to continue.”

You shook your head and bit your lip to hide the smile that Ivar wanted to see. Sigurd turned to you after he finished mocking Ubbe to see your reaction. He saw the exchange you were having with his brother and frowned at the scene, watching you both smile at each other for several seconds before the realization hit him. He let out a gasp of surprise.

Nobody but him was paying attention. Hvitserk had forgotten his wife’s infidelity in favor of making fun of his brother, who was arguing with Margrethe, who in turn didn’t seem regretful at all. Ragnar had stood up from the sofa to follow his wife into the kitchen, probably giving her one more reason to hate him.

Sigurd was about to open his mouth when Hvitserk seemed to remember the reason why this conversation had begun, “Let’s not change the subject!” Hvitserk straightened up, getting serious again, but the intensity of the discussion was over, “One of you slept with my wife, and I want to know who!”

“It was Ivar.” Sigurd hurriedly shouted before the topic of conversation changed again, pointing accusingly at his younger brother. You paralyzed and didn’t dare to breathe, but Ivar was just as relaxed as before, looking at the finger between his eyes instead of the others.

“Don’t be ridiculous Sigurd.” He said without expression.

Hvitserk nodded, looking at Sigurd like he was upset with him for not taking the matter seriously, “It’s not time for your games, Sigurd. This doesn’t get you out of my list of suspects.”

Sigurd frowned and looked incredulous at his older brother, “I’m not playing! Just think about it,” he leaned forward and held up a hand, counting on his fingers his reasons, “They speak in whispers, both come out and don’t say where, and they are always very, very close. Hell, Ivar had a hickey last week!”

“I fell in the shower.”

“Boys…” Hvitserk tried to intervene.

“And the only place you hit was just below the ear?” Sigurd ignored his older brother’s call.

“Exactly.” Ivar shrugged, playing with your fingers absentmindedly. Sigurd watched the action with fury, an action that his brothers ignored, “Today you are being especially intelligent, Sigurd. Did you take your vitamin smoothie this morning?”

Sigurd was trembling, “Your spoiled basta–”

A car parked outside and seconds later the door opened for the fifth time that afternoon. The last guest of the afternoon had arrived just when the discussion was about to explode again.

Bjorn entered the house casually, holding a pot of food just as his father and stepmother had done half an hour ago. He stopped when he noticed all the looks in him.

“Hell–”

“Were you the one who slept with my wife, Bjorn? I just found out what Y/N cheated on me with one of my brothers, but she doesn’t want to tell me who.”

Bjorn, always the coherent, didn’t hesitate even a second in his answer, “I thought Ivar would already be scrubbing it in your faces by this point.” And with that he went through the side of everyone towards the kitchen.

Ivar no longer looked as calm and relaxed. He could have dodged Sigurd, but his brothers listened to Bjorn even more than his father. Ubbe was looking at him, playing with Margrethe’s hair and shaking his head seriously. Sigurd let out a little  _'Aha!’_ , but everyone chose to ignore it.

Hvitserk, on the other hand, could no longer look at anything other than his wife, his eyes pleading for a sincere answer. You sighed sadly, stealing a look from the brother sitting next to you, and only with that gesture Hvitserk knew.

For the first time in their lives, the brothers were silent, just watching the scene in front of them. Sigurd squeezed Ivar’s arm tightly, but Ivar was unaware of his brother’s attempt to make him suffer. Margrethe chewed a mini-sandwich with boredom. She already knew everything. After all, she was the one who helped you hide the evidence of Ivar’s unexpected visits in the house.

You rushed to speak before someone else did, “You and I never really loved each other, Hvitserk.” You said softly, the corner of your lips curling into a small smile, “I know that sometimes it looked like it, but it wasn’t like that. We got married because we were very good friends who thought that this was the best option to settle down and form a life.”

Hvitserk had his eyebrows together and avoided your gaze, but made an effort to look at you and not his brothers when he spoke, “I know.” His voice came out in a whisper, but it felt good to be honest for the first time in what looked like years, “But I thought what we had was good. I mean, yes, I was a jerk with you sometimes–”

“Sometimes?” You raised an eyebrow. Hvitserk rolled his eyes.

“Okay,  _many_  times.” He admitted reluctantly, running his hands through his hair, “But I think I understand why you did it. And I forgive you.”

You smiled brightly and gently squeezed your husband’s hand, expressing that the feeling was mutual. Hvitserk smiled back and squeezed your hand in response.

And then he turned to Ivar, the look in his eyes going from being loving to one of homicidal rage, “I’m going to  _cut you_  to pieces, Ivar.”

Aslaug stuck her head out from the kitchen door, “No killings before lunch! It took us forever to serve it.”

“I’ll go help with that.” Margrethe got up from Ubbe’s lap and went into the kitchen, leaving minutes later with the food in her hands, Ragnar some steps behind her, eating a plate of salad.

Everyone in the room moved into the dining room and took seats and after a few minutes of noise and trips to the kitchen to get what was missing Aslaug and Bjorn joined the table as well.

The conversation flowed naturally during lunch, everyone talking quietly and making jokes. Hvitserk sent death glances at Ivar every time their eyes crossed, but Ivar ignored him. He was too busy drawing random figures on your thigh.

You turned to him and looked at his eyes for a few seconds before taking his hand in yours and giving it a gentle squeeze, ignoring Hvitserk’s gaze. Ivar smiled too, finally leaning down and giving you a kiss on the cheek, in front of his family, his brother, your husband, but that didn’t matter anymore. He had you now, and he was happy with that.

Hvitserk wasn’t, however.

“I’m getting my shotgun.” he got up from his chair noisily and left the dining room quickly.

“Oh god Hvitserk no–  _Hvitserk!_ ”

**Author's Note:**

> I know Margrethe and Ubbe aren’t actually in love, but for the sake of the plot they are now. Also, Sigurd and his parent have a better relationship here than in cannon, so you’ll have to ignore that too.
> 
> Keep in mind that this is my first Vikings fic ever, so I would be really grateful if you told me what you think.
> 
> As always, leave a comment of what you think and let me know if you see any mistake!


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